This invention relates to providing stereoscopic views based on monographic images from a three dimensional datamap.
Heretofore datamaps based on an XYZ coordinate system (3D) have been employed to provide a sequence of monographic images of display objects along X and Y display coordinates (2D). The Z or range coordinate provided a depth dimension effect which supported 3D like features such as:
parallax shift between display objects at different depths;
occulting of distant background objects by closer foreground objects; and
keystone taper of objects faces toward a vanishing point.
However, these depth effects did not include direct visual range perception between left and right monographic images in stereoscopic relationship.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide multiple monographic images in stereoscopic relationship which support direct perception of range.
It is another object of this invention to provide such stereoscopic relationship with controlled stereoscopic spacing for enhancing the range perception.
It is a further object of this invention to provide such stereoscopic relationship by shuttering the monographic images presented to the observer.
It is a further object of this invention to provide such stereoscopic relationship through head mounted monitors which present the monographic images to the observer.
It is a further object of this invention to provide such stereoscopic relationship through head mounted monitors with front and peripheral images in wrap-around relationship.
Briefly, these and other objects of the present invention are accomplished by providing a computer apparatus for modifying monographic datamap images into monographic display images in stereoscopic relationship for presentation to a binocular observer. A buffer memory stores datamap rasters containing monographic datamap images of polygons defined by polygon vertices from a polygon based graphics datamap. Each vertex has a position in a three dimensional coordinate system defined by a traverse coordinate and an elevation coordinate and a range coordinate. A left stereoscopic channel processes datamap rasters stored in the buffer memory forming left display rasters containing left monographic display images at a left virtual viewing point (left VVP), for presentation to the left eye of the observer. A right stereoscopic channel processes datamap rasters stored in the buffer memory forming right display rasters containing right monographic display images at a right virtual viewing point (right VVP) in stereoscopic relationship to the left display images, for presentation to the right eye of the observer. Stereoscopic spacing mechanism defines a stereoscopic spacing between the left and right VVPs. An initial virtual viewing point mechanism defines the position of an initial virtual viewing point (initial VVP) for the datamap raster. A display virtual viewing point mechanism provides the left and right VVPs in stereoscopic relationship based on the position of the initial VVP and on the stereoscopic spacing. A display vertex generator in the left and right channels, modifies each datamap vertex in the datamap raster to generate a corresponding display vertex in the left and right display rasters based on the left and right VVPs and on the range coordinate of that datamap vertex. A stereoscopic viewing device is responsive to the left and right channels for presenting the left and right display rasters containing the left and right display images to the left and right eyes of the observer.